MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program

U15 & U13 town-based competitive youth lacrosse program

Objective:

Continue to grow the complementary MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program enabling MBYLL member towns an additional playing opportunity for their more experienced and committed U15 (7th & 8th grade) and U13 (5th & 6th grade) players during the spring season to practice and compete on a unified, town-based select team in regularly scheduled games vs. similar towns/teams/programs in & around eastern and central Massachusetts. The MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program will be a natural extension and fully integrated with the traditional MBYLL Town Program and will be guided by the same mission and goals of the MBYLL as a whole. The MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program will focus on: teaching the game while utilizing the best coaching & instructional tools available, adopting & following the PCA (Positive Coaching Alliance) guidelines, and further developing the teamwork, sportsmanship, fair play and skill level of all players, all teams and all towns in the MBYLL.

The MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program practice & game schedule will not conflict with the MBYLL Town Program weekly practice & Sunday game schedule and is open to ALL interested towns. Again, players choosing to play on a MBYLL Select Lacrosse team MUST also play on their town’s traditional MBYLL Town team as well. To be clear, when we say they must play that means practice and play in the Sunday games or they are ineligible for Select games. Not following this rule would cause teams to forfeit games previously played.

Keys Points:

We are establishing this new MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program for these reasons:

Improve the overall program and positive experience for all involved in the MBYLL

Enable more experienced middle school youth players to play together on a unified town team

Stay in sync with, and complementary to, the mission & goals of the traditional MBYLL Town program

A natural extension and logical progression of a growing MBYLL

and NOT for the following reasons….

We are NOT doing this for the sometimes mentioned wrong reasons (i.e. to be exclusionary, Select to a fault, Elite Team fever, A-B-C rankings, or the better-than-you mentality).

MBYLL Select Rules Clarifications:

If a player is ejected from a Select OR a Classic game:
The rule is that the player must sit out a Classic Sunday game AND the next Select Game. This was done because last year when the rule was a one game suspension the select players sat out a classic game and played in the next select game, so they did not feel punished.
One more thing, and this is on the Coach, but serving a suspension means being at the game in street clothes and supporting your team, not skipping the event.

If a Coach is ejected from a Select OR a Classic game
The rule is that he is not allowed to be at (coaching OR watching) the next Classic Sunday game AND the next Select Game.

Background:

Each year as lacrosse continues to grow in Massachusetts, we see a greater variance on the field between the skill level of our youth players and their game experience overall. Each year more experienced MBYLL youth players have looked outside the MBYLL and the traditional MBYLL Sunday schedule—and in some cases, outside of their town—to fulfill their desire for a more competitive or more advanced level of lacrosse. Unfortunately many of these non-town based club programs, although well intended, miss the mark in a number of areas for players, coaches & parents alike due to many factors ranging from field availability, scheduling issues, travel distances to games, variations in coaching quality and discrepancies in the team selection process.

There are number of MBYLL towns that have participated in complementary and regionally-based Tournament or Select league programs within their towns playing against similar town-based Select teams from other towns and always at times that do not conflict with the traditional MBYLL Town weekday practice or Sunday game schedule. The MBYLL’s objective is to unify and integrate these complementary Leagues in to one MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program.

Program Overview:

The MBYLL Select Lacrosse program is a separate and distinct program from the traditional MBYLL Town program (U15, U13, U11, U9) & Sunday game schedule or a towns weekend in-town recreational program.

Program Name:

MBYLL Select Team

MBYLL Town Team

U7 & Intramural Team

by grade, age & experience

by grade & age

by grade, age & if new

Teams @

U15 (7th/8th) & U13 (5th/6th)

U15, U13, U11, U9

U9 (2nd) & U7 (KG/1st)

Experience

Advanced

Balanced

New to Lacrosse

Game days

Fri. nights or Sat.

Sundays

Sundays

Practice days

Weekdays (1 or more)

Weekdays (1 or more)

Weekdays (1 or more)

Season Start/End

March to June

March to June

April to June

MBYLL Select Lacrosse games in the spring will be held on Friday nights as a rule or alternatively Saturday or Monday nights. The MBYLL Select Lacrosse practice & game schedule will not conflict with the MBYLL Town practice or Sunday game schedule. The MBYLL Select Lacrosse program will have Division standings, playoffs, championships and an All-Star game at end of the season. Again, players choosing to participate in the MBYLL Select Lacrosse program MUST also play in their MBYLL Town program (minimum 1 practice & 1 game per week to be eligible) during spring season. This is a league rule and cannot be waived by town programs.

Team Composition, Player Eligibility & Selection Process:

The criteria for playing on MBYLL Select Lacrosse Team may vary from town to town, however as a guideline it is recommended that towns select players based on experience, skill level, desire & commitment. No town wants to exclude a player subjectively — rather the objective is to establish a base line for the needed experience level & commitment required to participate on one of these teams in this new MBYLL Select Lacrosse program. Some towns will choose to hold tryouts while others towns may have players & parents self select in to this new program with a clear understanding of the additional time commitment required. Town Program Directors also need to make sure they have the coaching resources & field space availability in their towns to accommodate the additional practices & games if they decide to participate in this program.

Note: While MBYLL Select Lacrosse teams may not necessarily involve player tryouts (again, decision is at the discretion of each town), many of the teams participating in the MBYLL Select Lacrosse program will be “select” teams at each level. If players meet the experience requirement, they should also have the desire & commitment to play on a competitive town-based team before opting on to a MBYLL Select Lacrosse team.

Example of Possible Player Selection Guideline to consider:

U15 MBYLL Select Lacrosse Team:

8th grade player: 3 yrs of lax experience & wants to play lax at least 4-5 days/wk in the spring

7th grade player: 2 yrs of lax experience & wants to play lax at least 4-5 days/wk in the spring

U13 MBYLL Select Lacrosse Team:

6th grade player: 2 yrs of lax experience & wants to play lax at least 4-5 days/wk in the spring

5th grade player: 1 yrs of lax experience & wants to play lax at least 4-5 days/wk in the spring

Teams: (EXAMPLE ONLY—each town can decide on the selection process for their teams)

On each MBYLL Select Lacrosse Team:

Players have chosen lacrosse as their primary spring sport.

Players must also participate on their traditional MBYLL Town Team (practices & Sunday games).

Players choose their MBYLL Select Team & MBYLL Town Team as their only spring lax teams.

U15 Team. Boys currently in 7th & 8th grades & who are under 15 years of age on January 1st, 2012.

Players have 2 years of competitive lacrosse experience & strong desire to play more

U13 Team. Boys currently in 5th & 6th grades & who are under 13 years of age on January 1st, 2012.

Players have 1 year of competitive lacrosse experience & strong desire to play more

As a complementary component of the MBYLL, the MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program is a competitive league that stresses sportsmanship and fair play where every game is played with our ‘Spirit of the Game’ philosophy. Competitive play is encouraged, but never at the expense of respect between players, adherence to the rules and the basic joy of lacrosse. The MBYLL Select Lacrosse program is an extension of the MBYLL and its mission to teach, grow and honor the great game of lacrosse throughout the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

The MBYLL Select Lacrosse Season overview:

7 regular season games

1 tournament game (“win and stay in” tournament)

1 All-Star game per age group

Each game will have two EMLOA Referee Officials

The MBYLL Select Lacrosse Structure:

Teams will be Town-based from MBYLL Programs*

*MBYLL Towns with less than two U15 or U13 teams can join with a neighboring program to enter a team. Towns cannot try to create a regional team!

Players MUST play in their MBYLL Town program (practice at least 1 night per week plus play in the Sunday Classic game to be eligible).

MBYLL Select Committee Region representatives we will work together to finalize & communicate any additional program details and, going forward, will consider & adapt this new program where needed.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse Game Schedule & Divisions I and II:

Games will be played primarily on Friday nights, or Saturdays or Monday nights if a town cannot get a field for Friday night. No games on Sunday, so players can always participate in their MBYLL Town game.

Rainouts can be re-scheduled, as long as both teams agree on an upcoming Saturday or Monday night.

Game scheduling will be done regionally—same as MBYLL Sunday game scheduling process—and will be based on the town programs input as well as a town programs prior season skill level if possible.

Towns will self-select-in & decide before the season starts to enter their MBYLL Select team(s) in either Division I (Advanced) or Division II (Experienced). If the total # of teams registered in a Division are too low, MBYLL Select Committee reps may need to consolidate the # of Divisions.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse teams in Division I may need to travel outside their traditional MBYLL Region’s geography in order to facilitate a competitive game schedule throughout the entire spring season.

MBYLL Select final game schedule may be re-adjusted after the 3rd game of the season to better balance the team competition in each Division.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse League Fees:

The fee for 2014 season will be $995 per team, which includes the league paying the Refs. Home team is responsible for game balls and timekeeper.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse Tournament:

The MBYLL Select tournament will be held over the final two weeks of the season.

Standings are based on the weighted average of wins and losses during the season.

Tie breakers for teams are first based on Head to Head games during the season, and following that on fewest Goals Against. Using Goals Against keeps away any incentive for a coach to run up a score on an opponent, as that is against the philosophy of this league and good sportsmanship.

Game #1 will be held on Monday night (rain or scheduling conflict will play Tuesday or Wednesday night)

Based on Division standings, higher seeds may get a bye on this first Monday night to balance bracket.

Game #2 will be held on Thursday night (rain or scheduling conflict will play Friday night or Saturday).

Game #3 will be held on the following Monday night (rain or scheduling conflict will play Tuesday).

Semi Finals will be played on Wednesday night (rain or scheduling conflict will play Thursday).

Finals will be played on Saturday at the Devens Jamboree (rain or scheduling conflict notwithstanding).

MBYLL Select Lacrosse Member Agreement:

Each town must provide a safe, regulation-sized lacrosse field at no cost to league for all home games.

Each player and coach must be a member of US Lacrosse and a member of MBYLL in good standing.

All coaches in the MBYLL Select Lacrosse program will be MBYLL-certified; preferably also USL certified. Coaches are expected to wear their certification lanyards around their neck and visible, not tucked under jackets.

If a town enters more than one MBYLL Select team at any age level, then those 2 or more teams must either play in different Divisions OR be evenly balanced by experience, skill, age & size (honor system).

MBYLL Select coach is expected to play all players on their bench—unless injured—in min. 2 qrtrs. per game. *Exceptions for coach, town or league enforcing a disciplinary action to a specific player—and player & his parent(s) have been notified—resulting in a player’s reduced game time or suspension.

Team Rosters, including coaches and managers, must be registered online on MBYLL Select Lacrosse website (www.mbyll.org). Any changes to a team’s roster during the season must be updated on the website by the coach or team manager as well as must be communicated to the head coach of the opposing team prior to any upcoming game.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse All-Star Games:

1 to 2 players from each team are chosen to participate in the season-ending MBYLL Select All-Star Game (Team composition TBD: i.e. East vs. West or North vs. South or other).

The All-Star game will be played either prior to a Boston Cannons home game at Harvard Stadium OR at an alternative date/location TBA.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse will provide players with All-Star pinnies for the game (that players can keep).

Coaches will be nominated by their peers.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse Leadership & Organizational Support

New MBYLL Board position to be created to lead MBYLL Select Lacrosse Program & related Committees.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse Regional Representatives TBD & up to two in each of the five (5) MBYLL Regions.

MBYLL Select Lacrosse will have the full support and backing of the MBYLL leadership & organization; particularly in the areas related to coaching education, referee communication & logistics, game scheduling, financial resources, budgeting & accounting support and web site integration.